Thirteen albino people murdered in Mozambique in 2015

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Thirteen albino people murdered in Mozambique in 2015

3:23 CAT | 24 Jun 2016

Lusa (File photo)

Thirteen people with albinism died in 2015 in Mozambique in the wave of murderous attacks on albino people thought to be linked with ritual superstition practices, stated the report of the Mozambican attorney general told parliament this week.

According to Attorney General, Beatriz Buchili, 51 Mozambican citizens in total with albinism were victims of attacks last year.

“The year 2015 was marked by the appearance of a heinous criminal phenomenon, characterised by extreme violence, cruelty and lack of mercy, prompting disgust in Mozambican society,” Buchili said, who reported that Nampula province in northern Mozambique had recorded most attacks on albinos with 29 victims ,some of them killed, followed by Zambézia with seven and Cabo Delgado with five.

“In various parts of the country, we have witnessed the [assault, physical injury and] murder of albino people for the extraction of organs, especially the upper limbs, hair, genitals, nails and eyes, allegedly for use in superstitious practices,” Buchili said.

In other cases, Buchili continued, perpetrators resorted to exhuming albinos’ remains from graves.

Ninety-five criminal cases concerning attacks on albinos were opened last year, against 32 in 2014, representing an increase of 63 cases, Mozambique’s public prosecutor said. Of the 58 accused, 11 prosecutions were dropped and 26 are in the preparatory instruction phase.

Source: Lusa